FIG. 1 shows a prior art musical instrument 100. The musical instrument 100 shown in FIG. 1 is a six stringed electrical guitar. The musical instrument 100 shown in FIG. 1 includes a body 112, a neck 114 extending from the body 112 and a nut 116 extending transversely across the neck 114. A headstock 124 extends from the neck 114, and is shown in FIG. 1. The stringed musical instrument 100 also includes a bridge 118. A plurality of strings 120 is supported between the nut 116 and the bridge 118. FIG. 1 also shows a plurality of frets 122 extending perpendicular across the neck 114. FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a portion of the neck 114 of the instrument 100 shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a larger view of a smaller portion of the neck 114 shown in FIG. 2 to more clearly show orientation of the frets 122.
As shown in FIG. 1, conventional stringed musical instruments are typically equipped with a neck or fingerboard which is used to control the length, and therefore the vibrational frequency of the strings 120 being plucked, strummed, bowed, or otherwise activated.
In the conventional fretted stringed musical instrument, the string length is achieved through the fingers of the fretting hand pressing them against pieces of wire, the fret 122, imbedded in slots in the fingerboard. The string, being pressed against the hard surface of the fret 122 and thereby stopped, is effectively shortened by the amount of distance of the fret to the bridge 118, which defines the effective vibrating length of the string, thus altering its pitch (or ‘frequency of vibration’).
As shown in FIG. 4, representations of typical frets 122 are shown, enlarged for clarity, with respect to the fingerboard. In conventional fretted stringed instruments, these frets 122 are wires of a general “T” cross-sectional shape, with the vertical base or tang 122a equipped with barbs 122b and the horizontal top or “crown” 122c being a more or less hemispherical shape. The tang 122a is pressed into an imbedding slot cut into the fingerboard, where the tang's barbs 122b embed into the walls of the embedding slot, presumably fixing the fret 122 within the fingerboard. The domed crown 122d is thus seated against the surface of the fingerboard, where its hemispherical cross-section produces a convenient “stop” against which the string can be firmly and comfortably pressed by the fingers of the player's hand.
These frets as shown in FIGS. 1 through 4 are generally fixed so that their function can be reliable. They are removed only with great difficulty when they are so worn by use or become loosened that they must be replaced with new frets in order to play the instrument accurately and precisely. Removal of the frets is difficult because the barbs 122b tear through the wood of the fingerboard. The damaged wood cannot be restored and the gouges in the wood from the fret barbs or “tangs” cannot be effectively repaired per se. When the frets are replaced, they typically need to be glued-in, which makes the next replacement procedure even more difficult. This refretting operation can easily cost hundreds of dollars, takes a skilled luthier or repairman, and is time consuming. In addition, because the frets are essentially immovable without time, repair, and expense, they cannot be removed and replaced at the fancy of a musician desiring to experiment with different implementations.